Chris Caflin, MBA

Professional Background

With over 23 years of cross-functional leadership experience, Chris brings a strong track record in operations management, supply chain optimization, cost reduction/avoidance, quality assurance, capital planning, strategic planning, and new product development. His industry experience spans industrial gases, specialty chemicals, warehousing, and food manufacturing.

Key Highlights & Accomplishments

• Strategic Growth Leadership: Architected a five-year strategic roadmap that positioned the company to grow annual revenue from $8M to $20M. Conducted extensive market assessments across 20+ regions to identify growth opportunities and phase out underperforming products.

• Revenue & Margin Expansion: Achieved up to a 4% increase in gross margin across three product lines and drove a 14% CAGR in revenue across the full product portfolio.

• End-to-End Product Management: Oversaw a portfolio of 200 products within the lubricants and graphite dispersions category across 20 markets. Responsibilities spanned commercial operations, cost accounting, market and competitor analysis, and product positioning.

• New Market Penetration: Led cross-functional teams in developing and launching a new product line, enabling successful entry into an untapped market segment.

• Operational Innovation: Identified alternative production methods to revitalize a critical underperforming product—helping secure a $2M/year client account.

• P&L Ownership & Commercialization: Managed a $16M business unit, leading new product commercialization efforts in collaboration with Sales and Operations. Conducted profitability analyses and SWOT assessments. Key accounts included Walmart and Walgreens.

• Licensing Strategy Optimization: Re-engineered licensing contracts and brought on a new licensing agent, resulting in a 30% increase in licensing revenue.

• Financial Forecasting: Developed financial forecasts based on in-depth reviews of sales performance, tax exposure, costs, and margin trends.